anil

Any thoughts on the sound quality of Infinity Kappa-series speakers? How do they compare to the MB quartz or Diamond hex speakers? Are the latter worth the extra cost for the following system:

- * Concert head w/factory changer,
- Fosgate 400a4 (4 x 50W RMS) amp,
- Infinity 50.1cs 5.25" separates in front doors.
- Infinity 62.1i 6.5" separates in rear deck.
- * Fosgate Punch 45.2 amp,
- *Bazooka 10".

* = components I have already.

Thanks,
-Neil.<p>
---------------------------------
1998 Audi A4 1.8T
1994 Shelby Cobra Replica

ChuckH

...I'll give you my opinions; not that they are worth anything! :-)

I'm not that familiar with the particular speakers you are talking about, but in general, Infinity is one that I would consider to be middle of the road. Not in the same league as Diamond, A/D/S, Boston Acoustic Pro series, Focal, etc, but maybe a notch or two below. Very good speakers though. I'm also not sure of the different Diamond models, but their high end speakers (whatever model those are) are excellent.

I've never cared much for MB Quart myself. I find them to be a bit on the cold side and shrill, for lack of a better word. Some people really like them though. Speakers are a very personal thing.

I would probably just get a very nice set of coaxials for the rear shelf and put more of your hard earned money into the front speakers (if you're on a budget). You want your best speakers to be the ones closest to you, and the way you are thinking now, it sounds like the better ones may be the rears. Who cares what the people in the back seat think? :-)

FWIW, I am absolutely sold on Boston Acoustic Pro series speakers. I used them in my 90Q, and the sound was absolutely phenominal with very crisp highs and strong, tight, mid-bass response. I ran Pro 5.2's up front and Boston Plate mounts (5-1/4" driver and seperate tweeter) in the rear. Let me tell you that if you can fit a plate mount in the A4 (I don't know on that) you should consider these. They are FANTASTIC speakers that are nearly as good IMO as the pro series seperates but for a lot less money. I ran both sets off a modest 30x4 Pioneer amplifier mated to a 120 Watt mono DEI amplifier and an 8" Kicker Solo-Baric sub. If you were to hear it, you would swear it had more power and a bigger subwoofer. All this was fed by a top of the line Eclipse CD/tuner and 6 disc changer.

Anyway, I'm doing my Xterra up in a similar setup, but even better. Check this out!

Eclipse 5605 In-dash 6 disc changer/tuner.
Eclipse 5962 In-dash 6 disc changer.
Pioneer GM-X544, 50Wx4 amplifier.
Pioneer GM-X742, 240W amplifier (in mono).
Boston Pro series 5.5 seperates in front.
Boston Rally 6x9's in rear cargo area.
Boston Pro 10.5 LF subwoofer.

All this is wired with Phoenix gold signal cables, speaker wires, Power-Flo 4 guage power lead into gold plated distribution block and to 8 guage Power-Flo. I've got about $300 into the wiring alone.

Here's the beauty of this system. The Pioneer amps will fit under the front seats (barely!), although I had to move a wiring harness under the driver's seat. I also had to remove carpeting so the amps will sit as low as possible and clear the seats. Also, with duel 6 disc changers in the dash, the only thing that will take up cargo space is the subwoofer, which is in a very small enclosure and will be removeable.

If you haven't seen the Eclipse in-dash changers, check out this link!<p>Charles
2000 Nissan Xterra SE V6 4x4
'98 A4 2.8 Q-Tip (employer owned)
<ul><li><a href="http://www.eclipse-web.com/product/indash/index.html">Eclipse Changers</a></li></ul>

eh-fow

I really like Infinity speakers, but the ones that you have chosen are no longer the high-end Kappa speakers. Chuck H is right that the speakers you have listed are not quite as good as the other manufacturers that you listed. This is true, but your compairing apples w/ oranges. The Diamond Hex and the MB Quart Q-Series stuff is the equivalent of the Infinity Perfect 6.1 component set (which I am currently using). These speakers rock and I like them much more than the MBQ's (too bright IMO). But, they only come is a 6.5" driver and take a lot of mods to fit (you can check out my custom pod pics from about a month ago further down the forum) so I doubt you would want these speakers. But, the new Infinity Kappa speakers are donated with a *.2 at the end (i.e. 50.2 Component Set) and are great speakers. These are deffinatley worth a listen and are much HQ speakers than the older 50.1 Component Sets. They are a bit pricey, but still $100s less than the other speakers you mentioned. I'm not sure if most stores carry them yet though, they just came out.

HTH,<p>Dan
99 1.8TQMSX K04 Santorin
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2000/danh-sig.jpg">
<a href="http://a4q.tripod.com">a4q.tripod.com</a> -- My Website (way out of date)

Digit@lex

I recently got an X....great vehicle! After the audio upgrades
I've performed on my A4 I'm thinking about upgrading the
stuff on it as well.

Out of curiosity, are you doing all the installs yourself?
If so, where did you run the power wires? I've got all this
excess audio gear minus the speakers that are waiting to
be sold or installed. I'm leaning towards the install side. :-)

Thanks.
-AlexD

ChuckH

...I'll let one of the stereo shops install the Eclipse units so I get the 3 year warranty.

There's a big rubber grommet where a wiring harness passes through the fire wall on the passenger side and comes out behind the dash. I worked the wire through there and then retrieved it up behind the dash (a little tricky) and ran it down the passenger side before cutting over to the seat area right near the rear seat mountings on the front seat. Near the battery, I installed a fuse holder that will probably house an 80 amp fuse later. I ran the 4 guage over to the area under the driver's seat and installed a distribution block that holds two fuses...one for each 8 guage line out to the amplifiers. I still have some work to do, but the wiring is mostly done. I have to start buying stuff to wire in now, but I want to pay cash for everything so I'm doing it in pieces. Buying is my favorite part, but I don't want to charge anything this time and Uncle Sam took a large chunk of money from me.

Anyway, I need to run, but I'll write more later. Tell me more about your Xterra.<p>Charles
2000 Nissan Xterra SE V6 4x4
'98 A4 2.8 Q-Tip (employer owned)

anil

Hope I'm not beating this to death guys, but I have no way of telling other than thru recommendations. I wouldn't even trust what I would hear in a store to be the same in a car.

So I'm still a bit confused as to what to get. I heard the Boston Pros and Rallys today and the only diff I could hear was that the Rallys had more defined mids. Bass response seemed very similar between the two.

Boston option = Pro 5.5 (F), RX67 (R). Price = $335 + $130 = $465 from TMS.

Infinity Kappa *.1 option = 50.1cs (F), 62.1i (R). Price = $179 + $100 = $279 from Soundhabit.

NEW SERIES Infinity Kappas (*.2) option = 50.2cs (F), but older 62.1i's (R). Price = $280 + $100 = $380 from Crutchfield & Soundhabit.

So with my setup (stock head & changer, fosgate punch 45.2 w/10" Bazooka, and Punch 400a4 for the mains), what would you recommend? I don't have a budget per se, but I am looking for value for money, and not looking to make the car a boombox -- I just want a nice clean boost over the current basic crap. Are the 50.2cs worth the price diff over the 50.1cs? And are the Boston Pros worth the $184 extra over the regular Kappas?

BTW, how come I never read about Kenwood Excelon speakers in this forum? I heard these in a store and they were quite nice -- bright and clean. Or should I not even mention this to confuse the issue even more. :-)

BTW2, I noticed that TMS doesn't have the best price on the 400a4. Know any other online source for Boston Pros at a better price?

Thanks,
-Neil.<p>
---------------------------------
1998 Audi A4 1.8T
1994 Shelby Cobra Replica

Digit@lex

Anil,

I was in the same boat as you. I went with the Rally's as far as money was
concerned. The pros did sound nice but not at the price difference, but that's
my opinion though. I do think that if I had a more powerful amp (I'm using
a PPI amp PC450 driving 50watts into each front channel) I'd probably go
with the Pros because they do sound better at higher volumes. I do play music
loud now and then but the Rally's keep up fairly well.

I think you can't go wrong either way.
Good luck.
-AlexD